Cover Photograph (bottom of page): Amy Ouellette Misty clouds hover over green hills in northwest Rwanda Musanze District, surrounding the Mutobo Demobilization and Reintegration Center where hundreds of ex-combatants reside. These Rwandans are returning to their home country after years spent as a part of armed faction groups in the neighboring eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The reintegration services provided at this center are part of a national effort in Rwanda which began early in 1997 to reintegrate former armed actors into economic, social and military landscape of the country. Joint Research Project Rwanda Initial Findings Report October 2012 ALLIES takes no institutional position on policy issues. All statements of fact and expressions of opinion contained in this publication are the sole responsibility of the authors. The material in this report may not be reproduced in whole or in part in any form, without written permission from the author(s). For information, write the Alliance Linking Leaders in Education and the Services, c/o Tufts Institute for Global Leadership, 96 Packard Avenue, Medford, MA 02155. http://www.tuftsgloballeadership.org/programs/allies [email protected] © 2012 by Alliance Linking Leaders in Education and the Services ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A special thank you our connector between these two worlds of the United States and Rwanda, Seth Karamage, for his dream and support at every point in the process. Murakoze cyane. We could not have realized Joint Research Project Rwanda and this initial findings report without the support of many people. While we cannot list everyone to whom we owe the deep gratitude, we would like to name some of these people. To all who supported this ALLIES JRP in Rwanda, we express our sincere appreciation. Lt. Col. Ben Paganelli, USAF, Ret. Brig. Gen. Ferdinand Safari, RDF Dr. Hugh Liebert Sherman Teichman Maj. James Golby, USA Heather Barry CDR Arthur Gibb, USN Capt. Augustine, RDF The Rwandan Ministry of Defense, in particular the J5 office. The continued support of Tufts University's Institute for Global Leadership and the US Naval Academy Commandant's Operations Department. The students in the ALLIES program, especially the ALLIES leadership team and Aparna Ramanan at Tufts University and Malik Harris at the US Naval Academy. TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Abbreviations 1 II. Kinyarwanda Words 2 III. Introduction 3 IV. Impact of the Rwanda Defense Force's Historical Narrative 6 Taylor S. Allen, US Military Academy, 2014 V. Civilian Perception of the Rwandan Military 9 Emily McCarthy, US Military Academy, 2013 VI. The Rwanda Defense Force and Economic Development 12 Alex Dobyan, Tufts University, 2015 VII. Peace Support Operations in the Context of Civil-Military Relations 15 Eric Davids, US Naval Academy, 2014 VIII. Balancing Order and Civil Liberties: The Inherent Challenge 18 Jordan Rettie, US Naval Academy, 2014 IX. Creative Arts in Civil-Military Relations 22 Linda Zhang, Boston University, 2013 X. Women's Roles in Civil-Military Relations 24 Amy Ouellette, Tufts University 2012 XI. Conclusion 28 XII. Annex 31 ABBREVIATIONS ALLIES: Alliance Linking Leaders in Education and the Services1 FDI: Foreign direct investment GBV: Gender-based violence GoR: Government of Rwanda JRP: Joint Research Project2 NUR: National University of Rwanda NURC: National Unity and Reconciliation Commission PSO: Peace Support Operations RNP: Rwanda National Police RPA: Rwandan Patriotic Army RPF: Rwandan Patriotic Front RDF: Rwanda Defense Force SOE: State-owned enterprise 1 a student group launched by the Institute for Global Leadership at Tufts University which has since expanded to multiple civilian and military college campuses around the United States 2 a program offered through ALLIES. A select group of students from civilian and military universities embark on the experience of living and working together in a foreign country for a set period of time, together conducting research on an issue of international importance. 1 KINYARWANDA WORDS Ingando: a program of civic education camp in which all rising college students spend three weeks in an army camp studying Rwandan history, civics, and patriotism while receiving rudimental military training Inkotanyi: a Kinyarwanda word used to reference the RPA Inyenzi: a Kinyarwanda word which translates to cockroach; a term, often derogatory, used in connection to Tutsis or particular groups of Tutsis Itorero: classes on Rwandan history for high school graduates Umuganda: project mandating monthly community service days 2 I. Introduction The Alliance Linking Leaders In Education and the Service (ALLIES) was founded at Tufts University by the Institute of Global Leadership in 2006 to strengthen America’s civil-military relations at a grassroots level. ALLIES provides a forum for undergraduate students to discuss current civil-military issues through a variety of initiatives involving chapters from the service academies and civilian institutions. The overall goal of ALLIES is to create a new generation of informed civilian and military leaders ready to tackle 21st century challenges in an integrated manner. Joint Research Projects (JRPs) are one of ALLIES core inter-chapter initiatives. They are conducted annually by ALLIES members in order to provide participants the opportunity to investigate topics of shared interest in a civil-military setting. They align with the ALLIES mission and enhance the participants’ understanding of both military and civilian perspectives and approaches, while also creating relationships which could prove useful in the participants’ future careers. The 2012 JRP to Rwanda was unique in its method of inception. Generally, the prospective participants choose a country that is of particular interest to them and subsequently plan and execute a research project, with the overall product being a report on the group’s findings. The concept of this JRP was originally suggested by Rwandan citizens, as opposed to ALLIES students. The former Rwandan Defense Attaché, BGen Ferdinand Safari, and a former Institute for Global Leadership Tufts Initiative for Leadership and International Perspective (TILIP) EPIIC participant3 and friend of ALLIES named Seth Karamage first envisioned the project. On 19 April 2012, BGen Safari published a memorandum officially inviting ALLIES to Rwanda to perform a collaborative JRP with the Defense and Education ministries of Rwanda. Seven ALLIES members decided to participate and developed a plan of action that aligned with BGEN Safari’s vision. 3 EPIIC stands for the Education for Public Inquiry and International Citizenship, a year-long course at Tufts University through the Institute for Global Leadership. During the second semester of the course, the class presents a symposium that is attended by an international delegation of students through the TILIP program. 3 The goal of this JRP was different from previous ALLIES trips because of the expectation for enhanced collaboration between Rwandans and the American participants and also because of the envisioned sustained relationship between Rwanda and ALLIES. This vision affected the research since the group received an unprecedented amount of support from the Rwandan Ministry of Defense on logistical issues such as transportation, lodging, and interview arrangements. The discussion of findings and writing of the paper, however, was performed solely among the ALLIES members. After sixteen days of meetings, the research group spent approximately 75 hours interviewing more than 60 Rwandans in 23 interviews. The group’s time in country afforded them significant insight into the nature of Rwandan civil-military relations, allowing them to identify some essential aspects of those relations and suggest potential topics for further investigation. Prior to the group’s departure, each student participant identified a specific research focus relevant to civil-military relations and unique to their individual interests. The topics investigated during this research project and discussed in detail in this paper include: women’s roles in shaping civil-military relations, the relationship between the creative arts and civil-military perceptions, the impact of Rwanda’s historical narrative on relations between the military and civilian society, the Rwandan Defense Force’s (RDF’s) Peace Support Operations, the military’s impact on economic development, civilian perception of the military, and the balance between order and civil liberties. The RDF J5 (Division of Civil-Military Relations) generously coordinated with various institutions in Rwanda to schedule meetings pertinent to each of the topics. Those interviewed represented both civilian and military sectors of Rwandan society. The majority of the interviews were attended by all student participants and advisors, as well as the J5 facilitator. The research questions intentionally fell under multiple disciplines; the success of this research group shows that the nature of civil-military relations can be explored effectively when discussed from an interdisciplinary mindset. Learning about Rwanda’s civil-military relations through diverse lenses, the group identified four common findings. The broad observations about the state of civil-military relations are provided here as a starting point for the paper. The next piece of the document discusses the participants' specific areas of 4 interest. The paper concludes by an examination of the potential for a continued relationship between ALLIES and Rwandan